Inorganic particulates, such as, clays, silicates, and alumina have been widely used in combination with adjunct detergent and laundry compounds to impart some form of antistatic control and/or fabric softening benefit.
One approach taken in the prior art discloses anti-static benefits using inorganic particulates. Patents describing such uses include U.S. Pat. No. 3,594,212 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,862,058.
The benefit of fabric softening is widely disclosed in the prior art. Patents describing such uses include: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,886,075; 4,806,253; 4,885,101; 5,004,556; 5,019,292; 5,209,857; and 5,721,205.
It is generally well known that inorganic particulates can be used in the cleaning, freshening and deodorizing of certain types of textiles, such as carpets. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,716,488 (Stevens J & Co); U.S. Pat. No. 3,736,259 (Colgate Pomalive); U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,148 (P&G); U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,974 (FMC); U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,980 (Creative Products); U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,581,385 and 4,873,000 (Sterling Drug). In practice, the clays used in these cleaning compositions have particle sizes between 10–60 μm (10,000–60,000 nanometers).
Other patents and patent publications include: U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,537 (P&G 1976); U.S. Pat. No. 3,954,632 (P&G 1976); U.S. Pat. No. 3,962,100 (P&G 1976); U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,631 (P&G 1976); U.S. Pat. No. 4,178,254 (P&G 1979); U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,824 (P&G 1989); U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,857 (Lever 1993); JP6172657 (Nippon Shirika 1994); EP 753567 (P&G 1997); WO 01/32820 (Henkel 2001); WO 01/44425 (Lever 2001); WO 01/44561 (Lever 2001); and WO 01/83662 (Henkel 2001).
It is apparent that there is a need for methods for improving the properties of cloth or fabric materials containing various natural, man-made, and/or synthetic fibers. The hydrophobic nature of certain types of fibers, such as synthetic polyester or nylon, or the hydrophobic modification of fabrics due to “aging” of the material (e.g., cotton), give rise to a number of soft surface performance issues including: greater difficulty in removing hydrophobic soils (cleaning), greater attraction of soils from wash solutions (whiteness/redeposition/stain resistance), greater retention of body soils (malodor), greater difficulty in color fading (color control) and lower ability to transport moisture through fabric (wettability and comfort). There is also a continuing need that these modified surface benefits be made longer lasting or semi-permanent in order to be more responsive to consumer applications.